Moms always want what’s best for their kids. That’s why they strap them into car seats until they’re old enough so they don’t need them anymore. They also frequently try to buy family vehicles with excellent safety ratings if they know they’re going to drive their kids around a lot.
However, some kids don’t behave very well in cars. If a child distracts a mom when she’s driving, that can spell disaster. A child who yells, kicks the back of the seat, or does something else disruptive can easily cause an accident.
A child who causes an accident can injure themselves, the mom driving them around, and drivers and passengers in other cars as well. That can sometimes cause a lawsuit if the injured party’s insurance won’t cover their medical bills and car repairs.
Texas drivers can file a lawsuit up to two years after an accident, and most other states will allow it for that long as well. It’s an additional reason why moms need to think about how to entertain their kids on car trips or while driving them to school, the grocery store, etc.
Let’s discuss some ways that moms can keep their kids occupied while driving. If you have children of your own who get rambunctious on car rides, you may want to consider trying some of these ideas.
Get a Vehicle with a Built-In Entertainment System
These days, you can get vehicles with built-in entertainment systems, and perhaps that appeals. You can get some cars, and also larger family-oriented vehicles, with screens built into the backs of the front seats.
Your kids sitting in the back can watch a favorite show while you drive. That should occupy them and hopefully keep them from yelling, throwing things, or other objectionable behavior. You can even try to put on an educational show if you’re not happy with the idea of distracting them with screen time.
Consider Getting Your Child a Phone or Tablet
If you don’t like that idea, or if you feel like you can’t afford a new vehicle with a built-in entertainment system right now, you might also consider getting your child a smartphone or tablet. To some degree, that depends on your child’s age. Different parents have their own ideas about when they want to get their children their first cell phones.
Perhaps you feel that your child should not have a smartphone yet. You can still lend them yours if you feel they’re old enough not to damage it.
You can download games you think they’ll enjoy. You might also look into some educational apps. That way, you can feel you’re nurturing your child while keeping them from distracting you while you’re on the road.
Give Your Child a Book to Read
If you feel like you don’t want your child to have a cell phone yet, then a good old-fashioned book might appeal. You can borrow some from the library or buy them at yard sales or library book sales. You might look for some classics like Harold and the Purple Crayon or Clifford the Big Red Dog. Maybe you’ll go for something like Peter Pan or the Alice in Wonderland books if you have a slightly older and imaginative child.
You can encourage your child to read out loud if you like. That way, you can help them out with any tricky words if they run across one that they don’t know yet. Also, if you get your child some physical books rather than having them read one on a smartphone or tablet, you don’t have to worry about a broken screen if they drop it on the floor.
Play a Game to Distract Your Child
You can also distract your child with games when you’re in the car. You can play a classic like I Spy. You can try to identify the license plates from different states. Games like that not only distract, but they’re educational. This way, you can teach your child the different states before they learn them in school.
If you have a slightly older child, you might buy them a book of Mad Libs. That is another game that increases a child’s vocabulary.
They will learn about verbs, adjectives, nouns, etc. By the time they’ve completed the first couple of Mad Libs, they will get the hang of it. It’s an addictive game, and your kids might beg to go for a car ride once they read a few of the results. The merriment these games create can help you and your child bond.
Talk to Your Kids About the Importance of Car Safety
You might try one additional thing as well. Perhaps if your child gets a little older, you can simply talk to them about car safety and how it’s dangerous if they distract you while you’re driving. That might not work with a two-year-old. However, if you have a five-year-old who’s at least someone empathetic and capable of grasping the concept, you can instill the idea that if they act up in the car, they can cause a crash.
You shouldn’t try to scare them with tales of gory accidents, but you can still usually convey the idea by using simple language they should able to understand. You can sometimes find books that will help get the notion across.
You can also incentivize being quiet and calm in the car. If you tell them they can have some ice cream or another treat they like if they’re good on car trips, that’s often enough to get them to obey your instructions.
Car safety matters, and the sooner you find a formula that keeps your child or children from distracting you, the better you’ll feel. You don’t want to come down hard on your kids, but you still need to find a solution to this problem. Maybe you’ll discover that trying several of these options works better than focusing on just one.